BeetleJuice: Back In The Game
by Valkyrie4
Summary: Set years after the movie, a twenty-one year old Lydia finds fame by sharing her experience with Betelgeuse and the Maitlands, Betelgeuse is banned from earth and someone shows interest in Lydia, is he who he says he is? All reviews welcome.
1. An Award For Lydia

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

_Hands vermilion  
__Start of five  
__Bright cotillion  
__Raven's dive  
__Nightshade's promise  
__Spirits strive  
__To the living, let now the dead come alive._

_As sudden thunder pierces night  
__As magic wonder mad affright  
__Rives asunder man's delight  
__Our ghost, our corpse and we rise to be._

_As flies the lizard  
__Serpent fell  
__As goblin Vizard at the spell  
__The buried dead and slain rise again._

As Otho spoke these words, trying to bring Adam and Barbara Maitland into view, he didn't fully understand what he was unleashing to the world of the living. He'd opened a portal between the world of the living and the world of the dead, unleashing a spirit so evil, no one can comprehend what it is capable of. Juno sent thousands of ghosts to earth to search for the spirit, but he had disappeared without a trace, no one knows what happened but word had gotten out that he'd been trapped in something and was unable to return to the afterlife.

Several years have passed since Lydia Deetz nearly married Betelgeuse and only a few weeks since she moved a few miles from her parents home, she was sad to leave Barbara and Adam behind, they would have left the house and gone with her, but if they had done so, they'd be tanning on the sands of Saturn. Adam insisted that Lydia take a section of the model of the town with her, to remember them by.

Three weeks since then, Lydia had started to become a writer, she thought that their encounter with Betelgeuse would make a good story, so she wrote about that, changing the characters names though, she didn't want Otho trying to cash in on his experience by being in the book and she certainly didn't want someone to say Betelgeuse's name three times. Her day job though, was being a photographer for the local newspaper, sometimes she'd have to go away for a few days to New York City, but that was about as far as she'd have to go.

The book she was writing was only intended to be a short story, and since she put all of her time into it, it only took a little over three months to finish it.

'Lydia my dear, this book is fantastic! It's so…different, a perfect mix of drama and comedy! Keep writing books like this and you will be famous.' Nadine, the head of Red Paper Publishing, said excitedly. Lydia, now twenty-one, sat before Nadine in her office, a smile on her face.

'Thanks, I was hoping you'd like it.' She replied. Nadine took a long drag from her cigarette and nodded, puffing smoke from her mouth.

'If you don't get an award or at least some recognition for this, I'll quit smoking.' She said. Nadine couldn't survive a few hours without a smoke, so her saying that meant that Lydia would get recognition, she wouldn't risk her beloved cigarettes like that. Lydia stood and picked up her long black duster jacket.

'Thanks again Nadine, I have to get back home, my parents are visiting.' Nadine smiled and nodded.

'Ok Lydia, I'll see you next week, we can talk cover designs.' Lydia shrugged her shoulders into her coat and buttoned it up.

'Actually, I was thinking of keeping it plain black.'

'Excellent! A great look for the cover and cost effective, your father's rubbed off on you.' So long as she didn't end up having shot nerves and buying a haunted house, Lydia didn't mind people saying that. 'In that case then, you wont have to come in next week, we'll send you the book.' Lydia nodded and hugged her friend.

'See you next week then, bye.' She waved goodbye and left the office building. Lydia climbed into her silver car and drove off. It would be a good few hours before she'd get back home.

Pulling up in front of her house, Lydia kind of wished she had a man in her life, she hadn't had a boyfriend since she got out of college; and she regretted going out with him. It didn't bother her too much though; she had more important things to think about, like her book and her job. She got out of the car and shut the door; Delia and her father were going to be there in an hour, she had to get dinner ready. 'I need some excitement in my life…' She muttered, walking up to her house.

Meanwhile, in the reception room, Betelgeuse was waiting for someone to call him. He managed to get the witchdoctor to turn his head back to normal; he had to give his ticket back. Miss Argentina slid the panel to one side and stuck her blue face out.

'Number nine-nine-nine-eight-three-eight-three-seven-five-zero-zero-zero-zero, get into Juno's office.' She knew who it was and she knew damn well not to say his name. Betelgeuse, still in his tattered red tux, stood and walked into Juno's office, he was met with a cold metallic glare from the aged caseworker.

'Sit!' Juno barked, Betelgeuse knew better than to mess around with her so he did as he was told. 'What the hell is wrong with you?? Marrying the Deetz girl!'

'I'll tell ya somethin' Juney, she wanted me, I could tell. Saving the Maitlands was just a cover.' He replied arrogantly, leaning back in his chair.

'Don't call me "Juney"! You've broken every rule there is, you can't go back to earth anymore.' Betelgeuse sat up straight, his face full of surprise.

'What? Oh c'mon Juno! I'll be bored to death here! What about my business??' He protested. Juno took a drag of her cigarette; the smoke billowed out of her neck.

'You're already dead, idiot! The world will be that little bit better without your so-called business to screw things up for the living and dead. If you're caught on earth again you'll be sent to Saturn permanently!' Betelgeuse sighed in defeat, what Juno said went; it was futile to fight it. He got up and left the office, mumbling under his breath.

The week after, Lydia got a large brown envelope in the post. She took it into the living room and sat down. Before opening it, Lydia took a deep breath and tore the edge away. She reached her hand inside and took out an A3 size paperback book, the cover was completely black save for the title written in white, which read: "Moving House - by Lydia Deetz". Lydia laughed to herself and flipped through the book, she was incredibly happy with it.

'Who would have thought that I'd write a book?' She asked herself. The answer, of course, was no one. Not even she thought she could achieve such a feat. She had to tell Adam and Barbara, not to mention her parents. Quickly, she ran out of the house, jumped into her car and set off towards her parents' and friends' home. An hour later, she arrived at the house. 'Guys! Come quick!' She yelled, bursting through the door.

'What is it Lydia??' Barbara asked, running in from the living room, followed by Adam. Delia came from the kitchen and Charles almost fell over himself running down the stairs.

'What's wrong? Why are you yelling?' Delia asked. Lydia grinned incessantly, hiding the book behind her back.

'Whatcha got there, honey?' Her father asked, standing next to Delia.

'My book, it came in the post today!' Lydia replied as excitedly as she was when she first opened the envelope.

'That's great! Can I see?' Adam asked. Lydia handed the book over to her friend, who quickly started to examine the book before reading the summary; he passed it to Barbara who, in turn, passed it to Delia and Charles.

'Lydia Deetz, you never cease to amaze me.' Barbara said, hugging her.

'You guys can keep that copy, I don't know when it'll be released properly yet.' Lydia replied, hugging back.

'But it's yours, the first copy ever made.' Adam responded.

'Yeah, but without you or my parents, I wouldn't have been able to write it. I changed the characters names too, so no one knows its us and so that creep wont be brought back again.'

'Good thinking Lydia, are you sure we can keep it?' Charles asked, flipping through the book. His daughter nodded and smiled.

'Yeah, you can keep it.'

Another month went by, Lydia was hearing from Nadine that her book was doing exceedingly well. She'd made quite a bit of money from it and had already gotten e-mails from fans of the book, as well as esteemed writers, congratulating her on her success. It got good reviews from most critics, though the more venerated critics were indifferent to the book, Lydia didn't mind, she didn't write it to get good reviews. Nadine called her, saying that she'd been nominated in two categories to win an award for writing, one for Best Newcomer and one for Most Imaginative Writer. Lydia was given a time and date to be at the awards in New York City, and orders to be there, if she wanted to win an award or not, she had to be there and she could bring two guests with her, so she chose her parents.

'Delia, do I look ok?' Lydia asked her stepmother. She was wearing a long black dress that gripped her curved body tightly, she had a woollen shoal around her bare shoulders, her hair was tied up as she usually had and she wore black high-heels. Delia smiled and placed her hands on Lydia's shoulders.

'You look beautiful,' she answered. 'I'm really happy for you Lydia, you're about to win an award for your book.' Lydia smiled and shook her head lightly.

'I don't know about that,' she replied. 'I might not.'

'You will if your mother and I have anything to do with it.' Charles said, walking into what used to be Lydia's room straightening his tie. 'Besides, you're nominated in two categories, I'm sure you'll win at least one of them.'

'Yeah, so good luck.' Adam said, standing in the doorway with his arm around Barbara, who beamed.

The drive to NYC seemed to take forever, Lydia was both excited and nervous, she couldn't wait to be there, it didn't even matter to her if she won anything or not, just the chance to meet other writers was enough for her. After a few hours drive they finally reached the auditorium where the awards were being held. Circular tables dotted the floor; there were three to four chairs around each one as well as a bottle of champagne and glasses. They'd had their tables reserved for them in the middle of the hall, Nadine waited for them, she'd already started the champagne and was through her fourth cigarette; the other three had been drained and were dumped in the ashtray.

'Delia, Dad, this is Nadine, she owns Red Paper Publishing.' Lydia introduced them, they all shook hands and sat at the table, facing the stage.

'So Lydia, how do you fancy your chances?' Nadine asked, stubbing out her cigarette and lighting another. The girl in black shrugged her shoulders and looked around.

'I don't know, there's a lot of really good writers here…' Lydia answered, partly in a daze.

'Are you kidding? They're the best!' Lydia sighed, what a great morale booster that was, she thought. 'But, Lydia, they don't have what you've got.' Nadine finished, stabbing a finger in Lydia's direction.

'And what's that?' Lydia asked, confused. Nadine took one long drag of her cigarette and puffed the smoke away from the Deetz's.

'All these writers are the best at what they do, world-famous, millionaires even. But they've innovated their fields so many times its not even innovative anymore, it's old news and occasionally boring. But you, my dear Deetz, have something that makes you their equal, you've brought fresh material to the world, no one on earth has ever written or conceived something like what you have. You're original Lydia, one-hundred percent original, and that's why you should be confident you'll get at least one award tonight.' Lydia stared at her in disbelief, she hadn't thought of it that way, she looked at Delia and her father, who beamed back at her, they knew what Nadine was saying was true to the letter.

'Wow…I uh…hadn't quite thought of it…that way before.' She managed to stammer, this was a huge thing for her. Red Paper Publishing was a big publisher; everyone who worked there knew everything there was to know about writing, so for the owner of said publisher to say she was an original is the biggest compliment she's ever had off anyone.

The awards started before anyone could say another word, categories were introduced and awards were given out, three bottles of champagne had been drained before the first of Lydia's two categories came up. A tall blonde woman in a cream dress stood by the podium to announce the winner.

'And now the award for Best Newcomer, the four nominees are: Lydia Deetz, Edward Fischer, John Lambert and Sarah Juliana. It was a close call between Lydia Deetz and John Lambert but John won by thirty-five votes to thirty-one!' A man, obviously the winner, hurried up the stage and accepted his award with a small speech. As everyone else applauded John's award, Nadine snorted with scorn and drained her glass of its contents.

'Utter crap, that book is so cliché, a pathetic attempt.' She muttered, filling her glass again. Lydia sighed, it was so close, but there was the next one: Most Imaginative Writer. Again, awards were announced and collected, it seemed to take forever for Lydia's second category to come, but it did eventually and Lydia was on the edge of her seat, as was everyone at the table. A tall dark-haired man wearing a black tuxedo walked onto the stage and behind the podium.

'Now, for the Most Imaginative Writer award, the nominees are: Brian O'Hara, Lydia Deetz, Frank Johnson and Harvey Davies.' The man opened the golden envelope and took out the card with the winners name on it. 'And the winner, with fifty-five percent of the vote, is Lydia Deetz!' Everyone at Lydia's table cheered and applauded her with gusto. Lydia, shaken, hurried to the stage to accept her award. She shook the man's hand and turned to the podium for her speech.

'Uh…well…this is a surprise.' She laughed, trying not to lose herself in a mixture of panic and excitement. She clutched her award and tried to remember the speech she prepared, just in case she did win anything. 'I'd like to thank the voters, my family – Delia and Charles Deetz – for their support, Nadine Raymond – my publisher – for actually believing in my book, she said from the start I'd get recognition for it. But most of all, I'd like to thank my friends: Adam and Barbara Maitland, who couldn't be here tonight; they were my biggest inspiration for the book. Thank you.' The crowd applauded as Lydia stepped down from the stage and sat back by her table. Delia was in tears of joy, Nadine was cracking open another bottle of champagne to celebrate and Charles just hugged his daughter before she got the chance to sit down.

'What did I tell you, my dear? I knew you'd get an award!' Nadine cried triumphantly, proud that her girl beat the others with over half of the vote, which was a huge amount for one person to win by. Lydia couldn't stop grinning and if she could it was probable that she wouldn't anyway. The rest of the night passed in what seemed like an instant, Lydia didn't care about the other awards, she'd gotten hers and that's what mattered to her. The after show party was announced to be in a different hall, Lydia wasn't sure about if she wanted to go or not, but Nadine convinced her that it'd be a great way to meet people and get tips from experienced writers. Lydia agreed and went with Nadine to the party, her parents on the other hand decided to go home.

The hall was full, Lydia swore there were more people there than in the actual awards. There were so many people in tuxes it really did look like a group of penguins huddling around each other. Nadine, never to be seen without either a glass of alcohol or a cigarette, took a swig of the beer she found on a table near the entrance and swanned around the room with Lydia trying to keep up. The two friends managed to get separated; Lydia was lost in a sea of alcohol, cigarette and cigar smoke and penguin-suits, a hand placed itself on her shoulder and she quickly spun around. A tall man with jet-black hair and a seductive smile on his face met her, his dark brown eyes scanned over her thin body as he took a sip of his champagne.

'Lydia Deetz, I read your book; I thought it was very interesting. You deserved that award.' He said, Lydia smiled and linked her hands together in front of her.

'Thanks; I didn't think I was going to get it. Uh…I don't recognise you…' She answered sheepishly. The man laughed and shook his head.

'Don't worry about it, my name's Max Ferdinand, I look for fresh talent and advertise their work if it's good enough. And I'm very interested in doing so with your work, Ms Deetz.' Lydia blushed lightly, she wasn't used to people making this much of a fuss over her.

'Well uh…thanks, I'm not really that good at these things, my publisher usually deals with business. I'm just the faceless writer.' Max laughed heartedly, his smile revealed a set of perfect teeth. He took another sip of his champagne and looked around before looking back at Lydia.

'Well I was hoping you'd join me for dinner tomorrow afternoon, I could explain everything then. You don't have to say yes, but it would be very nice to work with you, Ms Deetz.'

'Please, call me Lydia, I don't like formalities, and I'm not sure about dinner…'

'Lydia!' Nadine's voice called out behind her. Lydia spun around to face her half-drunk friend. 'This is _Max Ferdinand_, you can't turn him down on anything he asks you, anything.' She tried to whisper, but a circle five people wide could hear her.

'Oh…' Lydia replied, turning around to face Max once more, who smiled handsomely and sipped his champagne. 'I'll take you up on your offer, Mr. Ferdinand.'

'Excellent, I'll pick you up from your house tomorrow at say…seven?' Lydia smiled and nodded.

'Seven will be fine.' She answered. Max gave a slight bow before turning to leave. 'Hey, wait a minute! I didn't tell you where I live.' Nadine tugged at her arm and hushed her.

'He knows where you live, he does research on anyone he offers his services to.' Lydia nodded in understanding and watched Max weave his way through the sea of people.

(A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it.)


	2. Unwanted Visitor

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

(A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, it's very much appreciated.)

Lydia woke up in her double four-poster bed, a dull ache in her temples reminded her of the previous night. After Max left, she and Nadine drank the night away in celebration of her award, and her date. Lydia groaned and turned onto her side, hoping to shake herself of the headache. She opened her eyes a little, the light flooding in through the crack in the middle of her curtains stung like nothing else. The digital clock on her bedside cabinet read: 02:36pm. She'd slept all day!

'Ugh…my head…' Lydia groaned as she sat up, amazed to find she was still fully clothed. Patches of white make-up were smeared over her pillow and she was missing a shoe. 'I'm never drinking again…' She promised, though, she'd promised herself that a thousand times before. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and tried standing up. Lydia staggered slightly; overwhelmed by a giddiness she'd gotten to know better and better with each time she'd been out with Nadine. She stumbled to her wardrobe and pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. It took a while but finally she managed to change and wash up, the cold water woke her up a little more and the headache had eased off slightly by now but now she had another ailment: her stomach. It was churning like a washing machine, she couldn't eat; if she did then she'd spend the rest of the day with her head in the toilet. She needed to take her mind off things.

After a few seconds of deciding what to do, Lydia decided to dust, it was the only thing she could think of. She cautiously walked downstairs and went to the utility cupboard in the kitchen; grabbing her cloth and a spray bottle of water she went into the living room to begin her morning chore.

Meanwhile, Betelgeuse was having an even less enjoyable day. After he'd left his appointment with Juno the previous day, the caseworker decided to give Betelgeuse the leniency to allow him one last trip to earth: to apologise to Lydia for what he'd done. He agreed, it wasn't his style to apologise for being himself but one last trip was better than no trip at all. As he walked down the twisted street, hands in the pockets of his black and white suit, he kicked a bone that was lying in the middle of the road. A skeleton ran up to him, with his left arm in his right hand.

'Excuze me, could you pass me zat bone?' The skeleton spoke. Betelgeuse, still in thought, blinked at him.

'Oh…yeah, sure bud.' He replied after a few seconds pause, the skeleton took the arm gratefully and reconstructed his arm.

'Thank you, my name is Jacques, and you are…?' The skeleton asked, holding out a bony hand to shake.

'I uh…can't tell you my name, I can't tell anyone.' Betelgeuse replied, Jacques nodded and smiled.

'So _you _are Betelgeuze, I 'ave 'eard about you.' Betelgeuse blinked again, he'd never met this guy before and he already knew who Betelgeuse was, seemed a bit weird to the ghoul. 'In case you are vondering, all of ze Neizerworld knows who you are, we 'ave been told to keep a close eye on you. I just deed not recognize you.' Betelgeuse sighed, now Juno was keeping tabs on him, what next? A collar?

'I gotta get goin', my last trip to earth an' all.' He said, Jacques nodded and stood to the side to let Betelgeuse pass.

'We will see each other again, no?' Betelgeuse just nodded and solemnly walked past the skeleton.

'Yeah…sure.' He replied quietly before disappearing in a spark of energy. Jacques stared at the spot where the ghost once stood, smiled and walked on.

Lydia had finished the living room by now, it was spotless, but it didn't make her stomach feel any better. Remembering that she hadn't dusted the half of the model that Adam and Barbara gave her for a while she hurried to the dining room, which was big enough for a table and the model with room to boot. She'd started to carefully dust the house that represented the Maitland's old home; it brought back good memories of her friends, and a nasty one involving Betelgeuse. That snake had terrified her beyond belief and she nearly lost her father because of it. Just then, a spark of light came from behind the house and the figure of a miniature Betelgeuse wandered around the corner.

'_You_!!' She screamed, dropping her bottle and the cloth. Betelgeuse jumped a mile and fell down the hill on which the Maitland home sat. 'What the hell do you want!?'

'Lyds, please, listen…' He pleaded as he stood up, dusting himself off.

'Don't "Lyds" me you creep, why are you here now?! Didn't you cause enough havoc the last time??' Lydia was getting more and more enraged with each passing second where Betelgeuse was in her vision, he knew this but his orders were to apologise.

'Hey! I'm tryin' ta say sorry here! Wontcha give me the chance to say it!?'

'I'm not giving _you_ the chance to say _anything_!' Lydia yelled. 'The last time you said anything to me you tricked me into marrying you! And you have no idea how long it took for the nightmares to stop!!' The nightmares, Lydia had forgotten until she saw Betelgeuse's pasty mug. She became an insomniac because she had recurring nightmares about that snake coming back. Finally, after over a year Delia and Charles had had enough, they took Lydia to a doctor and got her cured through hypnosis. Betelgeuse took offence to this, now he was getting mad.

'I didn't _trick_ you into anything you little brat!! I said I'd help your friends if you married me, you agreed and that's what happened!'

'You took advantage of me, I wanted to help my friends!'

'First rule of business, babe! Take advantage of _any _situation!' Lydia folded her arms across her chest and looked away from him.

'I doubt anyone would want to marry you outside of a business deal anyway.' She spat. Betelgeuse fell silent, never before had such poison been spat at him before. Betelgeuse sighed in defeat and sat down on the fake grass, leaning against a tree he looked up at Lydia, who did more than dwarf him.

'Listen, I came ta say sorry about the whole marriage thing. Not my idea, hey it aint even my style, but I got orders, ya know?' He said. Lydia glared down at him, not believing a word he said.

'And why should I believe your phoney apology? You're just trying to get me to feel sorry for you.' She replied.

'This is my last trip to earth; I'm banned from here for good.' He sighed. Lydia's mouth curved into a smile, which quickly turned into a grin.

'Good, then I won't have you living in my model for the rest of my life.' There was no way she'd empathise with him after all he'd done. But there was a small part of her, just the tiniest region in her back of her mind that felt sorry for him. But she ignored it, Betelgeuse was getting what he deserved and nothing else could make Lydia happier.

'You've got no idea, Lyds. I'm on my own down there, I got no friends and I don't think anyone likes me, I got the whole of the Neitherworld watching me and I got nowhere to stay.' He sighed; he always put out the impression that nothing got to him. That he was the tough guy who never gave in, but now, now his barriers broke down. He didn't care what Lydia thought of him, to start off with he didn't want to apologise, it was a chore to him, but now he felt he had to. He _wanted _to. 'I'm sorry about the nightmares, I'm sorry I ruined your life.' He muttered before standing up.

Lydia stared down at him, not in anger or disgust, but in wonderment, she'd just witnessed Betelgeuse _apologise_, something she thought she'd never hear. Betelgeuse stuffed his hands into his pockets and wandered across the model to the graveyard.

'What makes you think I don't know what it's like?'

'Huh?' Betelgeuse turned and looked up at the girl, who by now had lowered herself to his level.

'What makes you think I don't know what it's like? I was treated like an outcast in school, my nickname was Morticia and no one wanted to be near me. So don't you dare tell me I don't know what it's like to be alone, because I _do_ know.' Betelgeuse looked down at the ground and sighed.

'Then you should understand that…that I don't want to be somewhere where no one likes me.' He was letting it all out, no going back now. He turned around and looked over the graveyard, he climbed off the small mound he'd scaled and stared at his own headstone. 'You kept it…why did you keep that there?' Lydia shrugged nonchalantly.

'Haven't had the time to get rid of it.' She replied. 'Come to think of it…' Lydia reached over and tore the headstone from the model. Betelgeuse watched in horror as the only mark he'd left that wasn't a scar, physical or otherwise, was torn from the cardboard, she might as well have torn his insides out. One of Betelgeuse's greatest fears was to be forgotten, he never told anyone and, until now, he didn't even know himself.

'Maybe…you could visit?' He asked quietly, hopeful that she'd agree. Lydia leaned forward, a smirk on her face.

'Not on your afterlife.' Her voice was like a foghorn to him: loud and harsh. This was pathetic; Betelgeuse was reduced to a child looking for love. She understood his situation but she still could not forgive him for the years she suffered because of him. He sighed and nodded.

'Alright…I guess I understand…' He mumbled '…see ya…' Betelgeuse disappeared in a spark of light, much like the way he appeared.

The distraught ghoul reappeared in the Neitherworld, angry and upset, but not at Lydia: at himself. Lydia was a good kid; he could tell when he first met her. And he really sympathized with her when they spoke for the first time.

_"I wanna get in…"_

The words she spoke rally hit him hard, why _anyone _wouldwant to get into the Neitherworld was beyond him. Maybe…maybe he should let her get in; there was a way, death-free. But he was unsure, would she understand things more from his point of view? Would he get into more trouble? Would he get _Lydia _in trouble? He stared down the warped road, feeling eyes watch him with scrutiny and abhor. He decided to do it, Lydia wanted to get in and now she was going to. He just needed to do it without getting caught.

Lydia flopped on her settee, the headstone still in her hand. She examined it, running her fingers over the inscription "Here lies Betelgeuse". Was she too hard on him? She certainly thought so. But he did deserve it, he'd caused her years of mental and emotional anguish, this was justified, right?

'I'm such a cow…' She groaned. She really did know what Betelgeuse was going through, and in some small way…she felt sorry for him. She saw his face when she spat in it; it was one of hurt but also one of understanding and acceptance. He accepted the fact that he hurt her, he took the blame, and he understood that she didn't want to be around him at all, _ever. _She'd caused him the pain that others had caused her before. Now she was the one who wanted to apologise, to take it back, to make sure that he doesn't feel the pain that she did when she was younger. She stood up and walked back to the model, she cocked her head at the sight of the empty space where Betelgeuse's headstone once was. The graveyard somehow looked empty, as did the rest of the model. Lydia took some superglue and re-stuck the headstone to the model base. It looked right now; it looked better.

A gust of wind blew a piece of paper onto the model; it landed in front of Lydia, who looked at the windows. They were closed and locked. 'Weird…' She muttered, though with all the things she'd seen, this was the least weird. Picking it up she started to read.

"Read it out loud."

'There's nothing else on it.' With that, another piece of paper blew onto the model. Lydia picked that up and did as was instructed. 'Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting, I turn loose Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betel…geuse…'

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed and I apologise severely for the poor Jacques accent ;; It was the best I could do. And I'm sorry it's shorter than the first chapter, but I like to leave things on a cliff-hanger ;)


	3. Lydia In The Neitherworld

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

(A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviews, it's very much appreciated and the fic would not continue without you.)

As Lydia uttered the final "Betelgeuse", she realised what she was saying. Had he tricked her again? If he had, she was going to exorcise him the next time she saw the git. The dining room windows flung open and a strong wind entered, toppling ornaments, wooden chairs, books and a tall freestanding lamp. The curtains flailed like…ghosts in sheets, she guessed. Dead leaves blew in and circled around Lydia, lightning flashed through the sky and, for a second, it seemed to enter the dining room itself. Lydia shut her eyes tightly and covered her face with her arms, afraid that the lightning might strike her.  
It took but a second more for the wind to stop, the leaves ceased to blow around her and the lighting stopped. Cautiously, Lydia lowered her arms and opened her eyes slightly; she was no longer inside her house. She stood in the centre of what seemed to be a road, which turned and twisted in impossible ways, no car could drive down this street, she thought. The designs of the buildings around her were also contorted and vaguely reminded her of German expressionism, they loomed over her as if warning her to stay away from them. She felt her stomach attack her once more, she felt sick to her core. She had no idea where she was, how to get home or why she was here.

'I'm going to annihilate him…' Lydia muttered to herself.

'You're not from here, are you?' A voice spoke out, followed by a rhythmic tapping. Lydia looked around her, but saw no one. 'Down here.' The raven-haired girl blinked and looked at her feet, only to see a pinkish-purple spider with small tap-dancing shoes on six of her feet. Lydia jumped a little and took a step back.

'N-No…I'm not from here…' She stammered in response. The spider scuttled over to her and smiled.

'I'm Ginger, the greatest tap-dancing spider in the whole of the Neitherworld. And you are…?' Lydia, growing more confident, knelt down and placed her hands in her lap.

'Lydia…my name's Lydia…where did you say we are?'

'The Neitherworld, the place where all the dead end up.' Ginger replied enthusiastically, Lydia grew wide-eyed and she became a shade paler than before.

'D-dead…I'm dead!?' She cried. Ginger blinked and placed a hand on Lydia's knee; who then buried her face into her hands and sobbed.

'Why don't you come back to my place? You'll feel better soon, don't worry.'

Meanwhile, Betelgeuse was sitting on the settee in Jacque's living room watching TV. He sighed and looked at the clock, Jacques had gone out for a while and Betelgeuse had yet to hear from Lydia.

'I hope she did read it, it's what she wanted.' He mumbled, flicking through the channels. He'd taken earth for granted before; to him it was a place full of potential suckers he could reel in to help his business. But then he met Lydia, he still remembered the sad lonely girl she was when they first met.

_"I wanna get in…"_

The words would not leave his mind, anyone who would rather be dead than alive must be incredibly poignant. Just then, the door opened and a small pinkish-purple spider scuttled in and blinked at Betelgeuse.

'Why are you here?' Betelgeuse turned off the TV and turned to face Ginger.

'Jacques invited me over, he had ta go out for a lil' while…' He replied before noticing the weeping woman behind the spider. 'Lydia!' The girl quickly looked up and glared at Betelgeuse with exorcism in mind.

'You! Why can I never escape you!?' She yelled.

'Whatcha yellin' at me for, I brought you here like you wanted!' Betelgeuse yelled back. Lydia's face turned an angry red.

'I never wanted to die!!'

'What?? You're not dead, who told ya that?' Lydia glanced down at a sheepish-looking Ginger.

'I didn't know she wasn't dead!' She cried, defending herself. Betelgeuse sighed and leant back in his seat. Lydia folded her arms across her chest and stood by the doorway, not wanting to go near Betelgeuse yet.

'Sacre Bleu! We 'ave another guest?' Jacques exclaimed from behind Lydia, who spun around and gasped when she saw the skeletal figure before her. 'And what is your name?'

'L-Lydia…' She stammered. Jacques walked into the room and smiled at her.

'My name eez Jacques LaLean, I and my friend Ginger own zis 'ouse.' Lydia managed a courteous smile and shook Jacques' hand. He looked at Betelgeuse and cocked his head towards Lydia. 'Eez zis ze girl you were talking about, Betelgeuze?' The ghoul nodded and glanced at Lydia, who just stared at him. 'Zen I think zat Ginger better practice 'er dancing, I'll watch.' Ginger looked at Jacques and grinned, delighted that he would watch her practice; she dashed into the next room, quickly followed by Jacques. Lydia looked at Betelgeuse, who was staring down into his lap.

'So…if I'm not dead, how did I get here?' She asked, folding her arms across her chest.

'I can…well I _used_ ta be able to teleport between this world and the living world, you can do the same thing, but only if you say those words.' He replied, not looking at her.

'Oh…' Lydia replied, sitting on the far end of the settee, leaving a two-person gap between Betelgeuse and herself. 'Why did you bring me here?' Betelgeuse turned his head to look at her, she'd never seen a serious look on his face before; he looked weird with one.

'Remember when we first met?' Lydia let out a small laugh, all those years ago, but she still clearly remembered what happened that day.

'How could I forget?' She replied.

'Do you remember what you said to me the first time we met?' Lydia had to think, she said a lot to him that day. She shrugged in defeat, unable to recall her words to him. 'You said: "I wanna get in".' Betelgeuse answered for her, mimicking her voice exactly how it was back then.

'Get in where?' She asked, confused.

'Here!' Betelgeuse replied, extending his arms outwards. 'You said you wanted to get in here, so now you are.' Lydia was speechless, why had he remembered that specific detail for all these years?

'But…why? I know I said it, but…why?' Betelgeuse could only shrug in response. 'Well…I don't want to be here, get me home.' Lydia said, standing up.

'Well…you see…that's the thing…' Betelgeuse replied shamefacedly. 'I don't know _how_ to send you back…'

'WHAT!!?'

'Calm down babes, I'll work it out!' Betelgeuse yelled in defence. Lydia, whose face had now turned a deep red, fumed and balled her fists at her sides.

'Don't you _ever _call me "babes"!! If you don't get me home soon I'll…I'll…'

'Can't threaten to kill a dead guy, huh?'

'Shut up!!' Lydia screamed, storming out of the house and slamming the door behind her.

'Zat deed not sound good…' Jacques said quietly, peeking his head into the living room. Ginger crawled up onto his shoulder and sighed.

'I was hoping she'd stay…' Betelgeuse groaned and, leaning his head back, stared at the ceiling.

Lydia, seething with anger, slowed down once she got about fifty feet from the house. She started to breathe deeply, what a useless imbecile, he brought her here and now he couldn't take her back! She would have killed him, if he were not already dead. Suddenly, she heard a dog barking and quick footsteps charging towards her, followed by a voice yelling for the animal to stop. As Lydia turned, she was knocked to the floor by a pink dog with yellow horns and a saddle on its back.

'Darn It Poopsie! Get off her!' The dog was dragged off Lydia, who slowly sat up and held her head. 'Ah'm sorry lil' missy, Poopsie here must've smelled somethin' on you.' Lydia looked up to see a large furry Monster looming over her. He wore a blue cowboy hat, gloves and boots. The Monster helped her to her feet and dusted her down. 'Ah can smell that Betelgeuse on ya, tha's why Poopsie here knocked ya down.'

'Don't talk to me about that creep, he's caused nothing but trouble for me.' Lydia replied, not at all frightened. The Monster's face seemed to brighten as she started running Betelgeuse down.

'So you hate that guy too, huh? Ah tell you whut, he's nothin' but a pest.' Lydia nodded her head in agreement. 'So whut you got against him?'

'Well he tried to marry me when I was sixteen, he tried to kill my father, he brought me here before my time and he doesn't know how to get me back home.' The Monster shook his head in disgust and glanced at the house she just left.

'Well ah hope he aint lookin' to stay there for too long, ah live across the street!' He said, pointing his gloved hand towards the house opposite Jacques'. Lydia folded her arms across her chest and glanced at the house.

'I feel sorry for you.'

'Well if he does move in, ah'll fight tooth n' nail to get him out.' Lydia smiled lightly; the thought of Betelgeuse getting kicked out of his home was kind of funny. 'Ah'd best get back lil' missy, Poopsie here's gettin' hungry.' Lydia nodded and waved as The Monster, followed by his dog, hurried back home. Shaking her head, she started walking away from the house.

'This place is just too weird…' Lydia mumbled, walking on, not really knowing where she was going. She couldn't go too far though, as much as she disliked Betelgeuse at that point she had to stay close by because he had to take her home. Lydia wandered the twisted street, smiling politely to the passing ghouls, ghosts and monsters. As inhuman as they were, she didn't feel out of place. After getting over the overall shock of being in the Neitherworld, the creatures that resided there didn't bother her at all; she actually found some of them quite funny.

'Betelgeuze, what are you going to do about Lydia?' Jacques asked, sitting next to his guest. The ghoul shrugged and sighed heavily.

'I dunno, but I think I oughtta go find her, I'd hate ta think something bad happened to her.' He replied, disappearing in a spark of light.

Meanwhile, Lydia was now sitting on the kerb, her face in her hands, trying to figure things out. Then, a hand placed itself on her shoulder, she looked up and glared at Betelgeuse, he too was sitting on the kerb.

'What do _you _want?' She asked, then, sighed. 'I-I'm sorry, Betelgeuse.' The ghoul blinked and tilted his head to the side.

'What for?'

'For being a jerk before, for yelling at you.' Betelgeuse smiled and let out a small laugh.

'You're no jerk, Lydia, and I'd yell at me too if I were you.' He replied. Lydia sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees.

'After you left I wanted to apologise to you for yelling and not caring that you were alone. I know what that's like and, in that moment, I became one of those who bullied me in school.' She said, her voice shaky. 'So…huh…sorry…' She half-laughed. Betelgeuse cocked an eyebrow and his smile grew wider.

'Apology accepted, Lyds, now how about I show ya around this dump?' He asked, standing up and helping Lydia to her feet at the same time. She smiled and nodded.

'Sure.'

Side-by-side, ghoul and human walked together, laughing and pointing at the funnier aspects of the Neitherworld. Lydia was in awe about how much her world and this world differed, they were complete opposites. Lydia couldn't help but giggle at the Neitherworldians constant torment caused by Betelgeuse, they were but harmless pranks, but the monsters on the other side of the prank didn't find it so funny. Lydia couldn't believe it, she was actually having a _good time_ with Betelgeuse, there was a point where she didn't want to see his decaying face again, but he had grown on her. He wasn't just the gross perverted conman who tried to marry her; he was a fun-loving nice guy, albeit a bit of a prankster. Going home didn't seem that important anymore, she almost wished she didn't have to go home for that date. The date! She'd completely forgotten! Lydia swallowed hard and glanced at Betelgeuse, who was already looking at her.

'Um…Betelgeuse, have you figured out how to get me home yet?' She hated to ask, but she really did have to go.

'I think so…why Lyds?' Betelgeuse replied.

'I…I need to go home, now.'

'How come?' Betelgeuse asked, disappointed. This was the first time ever that he'd had someone who he could share a laugh or two with. She was the closest thing he'd ever had for a friend.

'I have a date.' Lydia answered, awkwardly. Her ghoulish companion glanced at the floor and, stuffing his hands in his pockets, nodded in understanding.

'Alright, well…remember, all you gotta do is say those words and you'll come straight here…' He said, afraid she'd forget. Lydia smiled slightly and response and placed her hands behind her back.

'I'll come back, don't worry.' Betelgeuse forced a smile and closed his eyes.

'Get ready…' He said, removing his hands from his pockets and aiming them at Lydia. With a bright flash of light, Lydia was back in her home, standing by the model of the town. The leaves were still over the floor and table, the windows were still ajar and the two pieces of paper were still where she'd dropped them. She glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. 6:03pm! Lydia ran upstairs to get dressed; her date would be there soon!

(A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be Lydia's Date; will Betelgeuse be jealous? I apologise for bad accents and out-of-character characters, but still,thanks for reading! Oh, and thanks to WitchyWanda for trying to get me the link for the cartoon characters, I recommend that you read her fic too, it's really, really good!)


	4. Lydia's Date

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

(A/N: I just noticed that I haven't put a disclaimer in. Well I don't own anything to do with Beetlejuice – movie or cartoon – or Tim Burton. I _do _own, however, Nadine and Max. Thanks once again to those who review!)

Max Ferdinand stood on Lydia's doorstep, wearing the same tuxedo he wore when he first met Lydia. She was a pretty thing, he though, much better looking than the other girls that were at the party. He pressed his finger against the doorbell for the second time, was she there? He glanced at his watch: 6:53pm, it paid to be early in most situations, would Lydia appreciate it? Again, he thought, she was a pretty thing, but it wasn't her looks he was interested in.

'Coming!' Lydia called from the stairs as she straightened her dress. Calming her nerves she walked to the door and opened it, Max greeted her with a smile and pulled out a bouquet of red roses from behind his back.

'For you, my dear Lydia.' He said. Lydia smiled brightly and took them from him.

'Oh Max, they're beautiful! Thank you.' She flushed. 'Come in.' Max took her up on her offer and stepped inside her house. Lydia closed the door and hurried off to put the roses in some water. Max glanced through the door leading into the dining room, he saw the model of Lydia's old town and walked up to it, hands in his pockets. He circled the model and examined it, something caught his eye, something in the graveyard stuck out. As he looked closer he noticed that it was a gravestone, it was bigger than the others, much bigger. He read the inscription "Here lies Betelgeuse". 'Found the model, huh?' Lydia's voice came from behind him, he turned around and smiled.

'Yeah, it's really something…did you make that?' He asked. Lydia laughed and shook her head.

'No way, I could never do something like that. A friend made it, it's one half of a complete model, but he said I could keep this half.' She explained. Max nodded and glanced back at the gravestone he was looking it.

'Who's Betel…?'

'Uh no one! No one, just something my friend made up.' Lydia cut in, not wanting Max to bring Betelgeuse to earth.

'Oh, ok then. Shall we go?' Her date asked, offering his arm. Lydia grinned and linked her arm with his.

'We shall.' She replied, walking with him to the door.

'Humph, he doesn't look all that great...' Betelgeuse muttered under his breath. He'd been watching them on Jacques' television set, Juno said he couldn't visit earth but she didn't say anything about watching, and he was still fiddling with the aerial. The picture on the TV jumped and flickered, occasionally turning black and white. 'Stupid, cheap piece of crap…' He growled, unable to get a decent picture.

'What are you doing?' Jacques asked, sitting on the couch behind Betelgeuse, who then deliberately twisted the aerial; losing the picture he worked so hard to achieve.

'Uh…nothing, just trying to get ya a better picture…but no luck.' He lied. Jacques laughed lightly.

'We should get a better TV.' He replied. Betelgeuse then set the aerial back to the way it was before he started messing with it. 'Betelgeuze, where eez Lydia?'

'She had to go…' The ghoul sighed. 'She has a date.' Jacques nodded in understanding.

'Do not worry, she will come back to ze Neizerworld soon.' The skeleton reassured. Betelgeuse stood up and stretched his back, creating several sickening cracking sounds.

'I guess…' He sighed again. 'I'm going for a walk…see ya.' Jacques merely waved as his companion dragged himself through the door.

'So where are we going?' Lydia asked, looking at Max from the passenger seat. Max glanced at her and smirked lightly.

'It's a surprise.' He answered. Lydia smiled and looked out the side window, she gasped when she saw a third person in the window, someone that wasn't in the car. 'What's wrong?'

'N-nothing…' Lydia replied, she blinked a few times and the figure had gone.

Betelgeuse walked away from the store window, staring down at his feet. Did she notice it was him? She looked happy, he thought, and that's what mattered, right? He kicked a can that lay in the middle of the pavement; it clattered down the road and rolled into the gutter.

'You sure?' Max asked. Lydia took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Max nodded and smiled in response. He pulled up in front of an expensive-looking restaurant. Lydia gazed at the building in utter disbelief. 'W-we're eating here??' Max's smile widened and he nodded before cutting off the engine.

'Yup, you like?'

'I like…? Of course I like! This is the most expensive place in town!' Lydia cried gleefully.

'The only one fit enough for you to eat at.' He replied, kissing her on the cheek. Lydia's cheeks pinked slightly, she let out a small giggle and got out of the car. She shut the door and paused. I can't _believe_ I just giggled! She yelled mentally. Max got out and locked the car; he led Lydia to the double door entrance of the restaurant and opened the door for her. She entered the building and looked around. The smell of lobster, steak, chicken and several other foods grabbed her by the nose and guided her vision around the room, she couldn't believe the size of the place, it seemed there were hundreds of people there, all of them dressed as if it were the Oscars. Max wrapped an arm around her waist and looked around. 'Hm…they moved the tables.' He murmured as a middle-aged man walked up to them.

'Ah, Mr. Ferdinand! So nice to see you again.' The man exclaimed, obviously Max had been here a few times before. Max smiled and took out his wallet.

'Hey Roy, how are things?' He asked, taking his credit card from the leather case.

'Very good, sir, and yourself?' Roy took the card off Max and put it in the leather binder he was carrying.

'Excellent Roy, couldn't be better. Roy, I'd like you to meet Lydia Deetz,' Max replied. Roy bowed slightly and shook Lydia's hand, 'she's an up-and-coming writer, won an award last night.'

'I shall be looking for your book, Ms. Deetz, if Mr. Ferdinand thinks it's worth reading then I simply _must _read it.' Lydia smiled and blushed lightly, still not used to the fuss people made over her book.

'Thank you…that's so nice of you to say.' Roy smiled brightly and stepped to one side.

'Not at all Ms. Deetz, now let me escort you to your table.' He said, walking off into the cluster of tables and waiters. Lydia and Max followed him quickly before they lost him. When they finally got to their table, Roy held out Lydia's seat for her, Lydia smiled and sat down, as did Max opposite her. Two red candles sat on the white tablecloth, never been used.

'Thank you.'

'Again, Ms. Deetz, there is no…'

'Please, call me Lydia, I don't much like formalities.' Roy nodded and handed them each a menu.

'Very well Lydia, I shall do that.' He replied, opening his leather binder and taking out a pen. 'Can I take your order?' Max opened his menu and quickly scanned over the selections of varied foods.

'I'll have tomato soup for starters, then I'll have the potatoes, chicken, vegetables and gravy for the main course.' Roy jotted down the order and then looked at Lydia, awaiting her selection.

'Uhhh…I'm not sure, it's all so expensive…' Max laughed heartily and shook his head.

'It doesn't matter how much it costs Lydia, pick anything you want, anything at all.' Lydia nodded and looked back down at the menu.

'Umm…I'll have the pasta.' Roy nodded and jotted down her order.

'What would you like for drink?' He asked.

'Red wine.' Lydia and Max answered in unison, and then laughed. Roy chuckled and wrote it down before leaving the table. A chandelier hung from the ceiling not far from the couple, it jangled slightly, as if moved by an unseen hand. Betelgeuse's reflection moved away from the crystal.

As he continued to walk down the street towards the swamps, Betelgeuse sighed and stared up at the sky. This is pathetic, he thought, why am I so depressed over that dumb human being with another dumb human? She's nothing to me; I mean…I'm the essence of scary itself, more so than the Bogeyman, I shouldn't be like this over _her_. No matter how much he told himself that, it never ceased to play on his mind, he knew that she was the closest thing he's ever had to a friend…a friend who abandoned him to be with someone else. He liked her, so what if he was dead?

_She'll only hurt you…like everyone else…like they always have…_

'You know…this is the first time anyone's taken me to somewhere this nice.' Lydia said before taking a sip of wine from her glass. Max smiled and swirled the wine around inside his own glass.

'Now I can't believe that Lydia, someone must have taken you out to dinner before.' He replied. Lydia snorted and set her glass on the table.

'Yeah, to a fast-food place.' She muttered. Max leant back as Roy brought over their food, along with Max's credit card.

'Well now you're getting what you deserve.' He said, taking in the aroma of his soup. Lydia smiled and started to eat, as did her date. An hour or so later, they had both finished their food and had also drained three bottles of wine between them, Max had drunk the most and it didn't affect him as much as it affected Lydia. 'Well…whaddya wanna do now…?' Max asked her, a slight slur in his voice.

'Welll…I guess we could go back to my place…' Lydia replied, leaning her elbows on the table, an even bigger slur in her voice. Max nodded and stood up; he picked up his credit card and placed it back in his wallet. Lydia also stood, swaying a little. Max took her by the hand and led her outside. He hailed a taxi and instructed the driver on where to go. 'What about your car…?'

'Don't worry, it'll be there tomorrow.' Max assured her, Lydia leant her head on his shoulder and smiled. A while later, they pulled up in front of Lydia's house, Max paid the driver and led Lydia to her front door. After a few minutes trying to get the key in the lock, Lydia burst in giggling through the door. Max shut the door and locked it; he then followed Lydia in to the living room, who then wrapped her arms around his neck. Without another word, Max planted a kiss on her lips, Lydia returned the kiss and pressed herself up against him. She then pulled away and looked up at him.

'Maybe we should go upstairs…' She said, pulling herself from Max and walking towards the doorway. The businessman eagerly followed her up the stairs into her room; they kissed again and worked their way over to the bed, undressing as they went.

Betelgeuse glared at the murky water of the swamp, at the vision of Lydia and _that guy_ in her bed. He batted the water with his fist, dispelling the picture.

She'll only hurt you…like everyone else…like they always have… 

The words played over in his mind, again and again and again, it just would not stop. He'd learned a long time ago not to trust people, but since he died he became a little more extrovert…just a little. He could do business with people, but wouldn't trust them as far as he could throw them. Now Lydia…the few hours she spent with him were the happiest he'd ever had, she taught him that there _were_ some people he could trust. But she had to go off, she had to go and leave him, alone, in this hell where no one liked him, feeling eyes constantly staring at him wherever he went. She was just toying with him, wasn't she? Pretending to like him, pretending to be his friend when all she wanted to do was hurt him, the way she already has. She was laughing with that jerk she was with, laughing at Betelgeuse no doubt. He clenched his fists and growled, how dare she make a fool of him, how dare she hurt him like this. She just dumped him all alone like he was nobody, like he was _nothing_.

'I'll show her…I'll show them all…' He hissed to himself, his voice full of loathing. A grey fog rolled in through the trees, his pale skin became clammy from the humid air. Bugs flew through the air, buzzing past Betelgeuse's face, but he took no notice, he saw nothing else but his revenge against Lydia for leaving him, for hurting him.

(A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! I should point out, for those who are confused by Betelgeuse's quick hatred for Lydia, read my other fic titled: **Beetlejuice: Origin**, you'll see why…at least I hope you do. And it's plug-time for my other fics, I have several original stories on fictionpress .com, just put Valkyrie into the search engine. Failing that, if you're interested, e-mail me and I'll reply with the link to my profile. Thanks for reading!)


	5. What's Up With Lydia?

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

(A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Since I can't be bothered to write out a disclaimer each and every time I write a chapter, so if you want one, look in the fourth chapter. And, for those who haven't, the story from here on might get confusing if you don't read my story: **Beetlejuice: Origin**, so if you haven't read it yet, read it before reading this chapter. Thanks!)

Lydia yawned and opened her eyes, she sat up, stretched her arms over her head and looked down at the empty spot next to her.

'Hm…he must be downstairs.' She mumbled to herself, getting up and pulling on a dressing gown. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and walked downstairs. 'Max…?' She called out. No response. 'Max??' She called again; once more there was no answer. A piece of paper lay by the telephone in the living room, Lydia picked it up and read it.

**Dear Lydia, I'm sorry I'm not there to wake up by your side, but, as usual, business calls. I'll come by later. Max.**

Lydia smiled and laid it back down; she walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She took out a carton of orange juice and poured some into a glass. She knew she should be bothered by Max's absence, but inexplicably, she wasn't. It seemed ok to her, it didn't matter, and she knew she'd see him again. Betelgeuse quickly came to mind, she did leave him hanging last night, and they were bonding…even if it was a little.

'Maybe I should go see him…' She said to herself, sipping her orange juice. 'Better get dressed first.' She finished, draining her glass, setting it down and running upstairs. She quickly got dressed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before hurrying back downstairs once more. After pulling on a pair of trainers she closed the curtains in all the rooms downstairs and began to chant. 'Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting, I turn loose Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse!' With a loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning, Lydia closed her eyes and, when she re-opened them, she was in the Neitherworld. She grinned and skipped down the twisted street towards Jacques' s house. She knocked on the door and waited. She didn't have too long to wait before a familiar face opened the door.

'Lydia! What brings you 'ere?' Jacques asked, stepping aside for Lydia to enter the house.

'I'm looking for Betelgeuse, is he here?' She asked, waving at Ginger, who was in the kitchen. Jacques closed the door and shrugged.

'I don't know where he is Lydia, he did not come back last night.' Lydia's face dropped slightly, she enjoyed her time with him yesterday and she was hoping to do the same today.

'Do you know where he went?' She asked, only for Jacques to shake his head in response. Lydia sighed and nodded. 'Okay…I'll go look for him.'

'Good luck.' Jacques replied, opening the door again. Lydia smiled and left the house.

'Thanks, I'll see you guys later.'

'Au revoir!' Jacques called out as Lydia walked down the street. She sighed and looked around. She saw the Monster Across The Street and waved, he waved back and walked over to her with Poopsie not far behind.

'Why hello there lil' missy, nice ta be seein' ya again.' He said cheerfully. Lydia petted Poopsie and smiled at him.

'Thanks; nice to see you again too…say, you haven't seen Betelgeuse around here have you? He didn't get back in last night.' Poopsie growled at the mere mention of Betelgeuse's name. The Monster shook his furry head.

'I aint seen the greaseball today, sorry.' He replied. Lydia sighed and glanced down the street, then back at The Monster.

'Do you know where he might be?' She asked, hopeful that The Monster would know. After a few seconds pause, The Monster answered, pointing towards a sudden turning in the street.

'Did ya check the swamps? That varmint might be there.' Lydia smiled and hugged The Monster.

'Thanks, just what I needed.' She said before pulling away. 'I'd better go find him, see you again.' The Monster waved as Lydia walked down the street, Poopsie just yapped, his own way of saying goodbye. Lydia hurried towards where The Monster pointed, all of a sudden a grey fog came from nowhere, covering Lydia in a hot and sticky atmosphere. She glanced around nervously, wondering what was going on, the fog just came from nowhere. She slowed her pace down to an unhurried saunter, suddenly a bug the size of a dinner plate buzzed past her face, causing her to scream in surprise. It disappeared into the haze as quickly as it had appeared. The leafless and twisted trees were no more than dark shapes, apart from the occasional buzz of insects and Lydia's footsteps timed with her breathing, there was no sound. It seemed a little _too _creepy, even for the Neitherworld.

She continued to walk, and as she got further and further down the pathway, the fog got thicker and more humid. It wasn't long before she found she was walking through tall, undisturbed grass instead of the beaten track. 'Betelgeuse?' She called out, hopeful that the ghoul was somewhere near her. No response. 'Betelgeuse??' Then, a rustling sound came from behind her, Lydia spun around to see a silhouette standing in the grass. 'Betelgeuse? Is that you??'

'Back already? Thought you'd be with your boyfriend…' Betelgeuse replied, cynical. Lydia took a step forward, so that she could see him. But he retreated, becoming more of a shadow.

'What? He's not my boyfriend, he's just…'

'Some guy you slept with…?' Betelgeuse spat. Lydia's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open. How did he know?

'Now hold on…how do you know that he and I…?'

'I saw…I _always _see.' He replied. Lydia glared at him and balled her hands into fists.

'How _dare_ you spy on me!'

'How dare _you_ leave me, how dare _you _make a fool of me!'

'I didn't make a fool of you, you've done that yourself!'

'I thought we had become friends! But you left me like I was nothing!' Lydia was seething with anger by now, as was Betelgeuse. Suddenly, Lydia snapped, losing all sense within her. A fire burned in her belly, her temples tensed with rage, she would not stand there and listen to this…_freak _yell at her about abandoning him, she _wanted _to go with Max, and right now she wanted to be with him more than she wanted to be around Betelgeuse. If she had paused for even a second, she would have realised that she wasn't acting like herself.

'You _are _nothing!!' She screamed. Betelgeuse roared, now he too had snapped, how dared a mere human defy him! The ground shook violently; cracks appeared underneath Lydia's feet. She jumped back and watched as several black tentacles shot up from the fissure in the ground. They wrapped themselves tightly around her arms, legs and torso before bringing her close to Betelgeuse's face. She gasped as she saw the transformation that had taken place, his face was drawn and his eyes were deep and black, showing no emotion at all. Veins were visible through his pale skin, making his visage all the more grotesque.

Before Lydia could say anything, the tentacles flung her into the swamp and retreated back into the ground. The crevice closed up and Betelgeuse floated to the waters edge, staring at Lydia, who was struggling to get out of the thick and murky water. 'What the hell was that for!?' She yelled, pulling herself up onto shore. Betelgeuse had no response; he just turned and started to float away, the fog following him as if he were its master. 'Get me home you jerk! I never want to see you again!!' Lydia shrieked, peeling a few weeds and algae off her clothes. Without turning around, Betelgeuse waved a hand and Lydia was gone in a flash of light.

Lydia appeared in her dining room, soaked from head to toe in swamp water and brimming with anger, she stormed up the stairs and into the bathroom. Running a shower, she undressed and stepped in.

'I can't _believe _he did that…' She muttered to herself, cursing Betelgeuse with every fibre of her being. 'Ugh, this crud stinks!' No matter how hard she scrubbed, the algae would not come off her skin; it was like it stained whatever it touched. After several minutes of scrubbing, the algae finally started coming off. She pulled weeds and all sorts of other crap out of her hair and half an hour later, she was done. Lydia stepped out of the shower, satisfied that she was clean, dried herself off and pulled on a bathrobe. She started to dry her hair and walked into the living room, that's when the doorbell went. She sighed and decided it would be best to answer it. Delia stood in front of her with Charles walking up from the car; Lydia smiled and continued drying her hair. 'Hi guys, what are you doing here?'

'Aren't we allowed to visit?' Delia asked.

'Unless you have company…' Charles cut in. Lydia knew what he meant about "company", she blushed slightly and stepped aside.

'No no, no company.' She replied, closing the door after her parents had entered the house. They walked into the living room and sat down, Lydia walked over to her drinks cabinet and opened it up. 'Drink, anyone?'

'Lydia, it's twelve in the afternoon…'

'I'll have a scotch.' Charles replied, cutting Delia off once again. Lydia poured him a shot of scotch whiskey and handed the glass to him. He took it and sipped the alcohol, savouring the flavour.

'So…' Lydia started, hoping to fire up conversation. Delia glanced around and noticed a couple of leaves left over from the first time Lydia recited the chant.

'Lydia dear, don't you clean?' She asked, pointing at the brown foliage on the floor. Lydia walked over and picked up the leaves before dumping them in the bin. Delia smiled and straightened herself in her seat. 'There, much better, don't you think?' Lydia nodded and sat down opposite her parents.

Betelgeuse stormed through the streets, letting his power loose, he was ripping up pavement, flipping cars and…well I wont say what he'd do to Poopsie if that mongrel tried anything. She called him nothing, he was nothing to her…always had been. She defied him, yelled at him, he knew she was angry…he was too, but he couldn't help but think there was some truth to what she said. He _was _nothing.

'So you guys just came to chat?' Lydia asked, hoping they would leave, she didn't want Delia to meet Max…wait, she had to rephrase that in her mind…she didn't want _Max _to meet _Delia. _

'Actually, there is another reason, we were wondering if you'd want to come over for the day, Barbara and Adam really miss you.'

'I can't…I'm supposed to wait for Max.' Lydia replied, Delia blinked and frowned a little.

'Who's Max?'

'Lydia's new boyfriend!' Charles chuckled, Lydia reddened.

'He's no my boyfriend…he's just…'

_Someone you slept with…?_

Betelgeuse's words hit her hard, now they wouldn't stop. Lydia growled lowly and rubbed her head, trying to force the voices out.

'Well he can come too.' Delia said, Lydia shook her head and looked at her stepmother.

'No, I have to wait for him here.'

'But hon…' Charles started.

_Someone you slept with…_

'No! Get out! I _have_ to wait for him here and you can't make me leave him!!' Lydia yelled, making Delia, Charles and even herself, jump. She got to her feet, fists clenched and her face as red as blood.

'Lydia! We're not trying to…' Delia tried to reason with herm but Lydia would have none of it.

'OUT!!' Again, Lydia hadn't paused, she hadn't hesitated, and she didn't notice how she wasn't acting like herself. Which was what Max had planned all along…

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed!)


	6. Lydia's In Trouble!

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

(A/N: Thanks to all who read and review! And to wild-lotus, the reason for Betelgeuse's detest for Lydia is that no one has ever been nice to him, so when Lydia started being nice to him, in his mind, it made them friends. And since he's never had a friend before, he got a tad jealous and thought that she was pretending to be his friend when she went off to be with Max, like so many people had before. Hope that cleared things up.)

'Betelgeuze…' Jacques opened the door to the spare room, which Betelgeuse had been using for a bedroom for the previous night; the ghoul stared at the skeleton, his eyes gaunt and tired. 'Betelgeuze…you look terrible, deed you not sleep?' Betelgeuse just shook his head and looked at the floor. Jacques walked up to him and sat on the bed next to the weary ghost. 'What 'appened last night? Deed you and Lydia 'ave an argument?' Betelgeuse simply nodded in response. He couldn't get Lydia's words out of his head.

_You **are** nothing!_

'Do you want to talk about eet?' Jacques asked and, again, Betelgeuse shook his head. Jacques nodded and stood up. 'Well if you do want to talk about eet…just let me know.' He said before leaving the room.

A whole day passed and Betelgeuse did not leave his room, he didn't sleep, eat or even talk. Jacques would check in on him every now and again, both he and Ginger were worried. Betelgeuse played the scenario over and over in his head, at the time he wished he'd done so much more to Lydia than simply to fling her into the swamp, but despite his loathing for her at the time, he didn't want to hurt her. How could she…? How could she toy with him like that? Make him believe she wanted to be friends with him and then just leave him to be with someone else? She was supposed to be _his _friend, but she went off to sleep with some other human. Wasn't he good enough? Sure he was dead…but couldn't she be with him instead? Suddenly, there was a knock at his door, cutting Betelgeuse from his thoughts, it opened and a familiar face burst in. It was Adam.

'Betelgeuse??' For a second he had to think about whether or not the figure he was staring at actually was Betelgeuse, he'd gotten thinner. 'We need your help!' Betelgeuse didn't reply, instead he stared at Adam as if he were an alien being. Jacques and Ginger stood behind Adam, looking into the room. 'It's about Lydia.'

'I don't want anything to do with that tramp…' Betelgeuse muttered, speaking for the first time for the better half of two days.

'But Betel…' Adam started, but was unable to finish due to the door swinging shut in his face by unseen hands.

Betelgeuse glanced around his room, the room darkened as the sun was laid to rest for the night and the moon took its stance up in the sky. Shadows filled the room, reminding Betelgeuse of the home he knew once before, reminding him of the atmosphere, the smell, the sounds, the fear, the pain. Maybe he was destined to be alone, maybe there was nothing for him to exist for, maybe he was nothing…he didn't even have a real name. He closed his eyes and sighed, when he reopened them his surroundings had changed. He was back in his dank cell, his home. A thin layer of straw lay strewn across the floor, the familiar smell of excrement and death hung in the air, insects scuttled across the floor, the wind howled outside and the noise…oh god, the noise; the unbearable, maddening, torturing silence. He felt right being here, as unpleasant as it was, he felt more in place here than he did back outside. The door swung open once more and the cell disappeared, he was back in his room. Barbara stood in the doorway, arms folded across her chest and a glare on her face.

'Betelgeuse! Don't you care about Lydia??' Betelgeuse had no answer, because he knew the truth, and speaking the truth would only make him look a fool for the conflict with Lydia. 'Answer me!'

'Go away…' He mumbled, staring at her feet. Barbara defiantly took a step towards him.

'No, I'm not leaving until you come with me, we need your help with Lydia.'

'Look Babs, I don't want anything to do with her…'

'We think she's in trouble with Max, Betelgeuse. She's been acting weird; she threw her parents out of the house because they asked her to come home for visit. She won't answer the phone and she won't let us into the house. She keeps…' Betelgeuse growled quietly and looked up at Barbara.

'I told you, I don't want anything to do with her!' Barbara sighed and ignored him.

'She keeps saying that she has to stay there with Max, that Max is what's more important to her now. We think…we think that Max is keeping her there, threatening her not to have anything to do with us…she's not herself, Betelgeuse, we think she's in real danger with this guy.' Betelgeuse stared up at her. He didn't know how to feel…he still, in some small way, cared for her the way he did the day they became friends, but he detested her for leaving him, for toying with him. He sighed and shook his head.

'Can't do anything…sorry…Juno banned me from earth.' He replied, looking back down at the floor. Barbara blinked and sighed heavily; she left before tempers got frayed. She knew that going against Juno's orders was practically suicide for the dead. Betelgeuse telekinetically closed the door and sighed, laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He waved his hand in front of him and Lydia's visage appeared on the dark ceiling.

'Where's Max…?' Lydia asked herself, pacing the living room in the same dress she was wearing at the awards. Max had told her to wear something nice, he was taking her out tonight. She fiddled with her earrings a little, still pacing. Max said he wouldn't be long, that was over an hour ago, where could he be, with someone else? No, he wouldn't do that to me, she thought. Max will keep his word, I know him, he will…he'll be here soon. And with that, she heard the door open and shut. Max appeared in the living room doorway, wearing plain jeans and a green t-shirt, Lydia ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. 'I missed you.' Max smiled and wrapped his arms around her, stroking the back of her head softly.

'I missed you too…you look nice.' He replied. Lydia smiled and looked up at him.

'Thanks…but why are you dressed like that, I thought we were going out.'

'Oh we are, we are, but first…let's dim these lights.' He answered, flicking off the lights, the living room plunged into darkness, save for the pale moonlight that barely made it through the drawn curtains. But it didn't bother Lydia, she felt safe in the arms of her man. 'Lydia…haven't you ever thought about the afterlife?' She'd done more than think about it; she'd been there.

'A few times; why?'

'Do you think there's a place where your happy all of the time? With nothing but what makes you happy?'

'I have that now.' Lydia said, tightening her hold on Max.

'Just think about it…tell me what you see.' Lydia opened her eyes and stared into the darkness, thinking.

'It's a place where the people are really nice, TV always plays the good shows, and my family and friends are there…' But not Betelgeuse, she thought, he tried to take me away from Max. Before she could open her mouth again to start explaining what else she'd want, she saw figures moving in the shadows, figures darker than the dark itself. Suddenly, they started coming towards her, dark demonic shapes, they seemed to be moving out of the shadows towards her.

'Lydia! Stop thinking about it!!' A familiar, yet unwelcome voice rang through the darkness. The lights flickered back on, sending the shadowy demons back from whence they came, and causing Lydia's eyes to sting and water. Suddenly, she felt herself being torn away from her lover's arms. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to see none other than Betelgeuse, glaring at Max, who was rubbing his eyes in a state of disorientation.

'Get off me you jerk! I told you I didn't want to see you again!' She yelled, the fire in her stomach returning, as was her hate for him. Betelgeuse looked down at her, wanting to yell back, but he couldn't bring himself to do it this time.

'Lydia, he's trying to…' Before he could finish, Lydia pushed him away and walked over to Max.

'I don't care about what you have to say, and if it's about Max then it's most likely a lie, just go away.' Max smirked darkly at the ghost and gave him a small wave.

'Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse…_Betelgeuse_.' He hissed.

'No!' Betelgeuse tried to make a grab for Lydia, but was transported away before he could get near her. Lydia, not questioning Max's knowledge of Betelgeuse's name, wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and buried her face into his chest, closing her eyes.

'Oh Max…I thought he was going to take me away from you…' She said. Max wrapped his arms around her, his smirk widening.

'Nothing will take you away from me Lydia, nothing.' Lydia opened her eyes and gave a small smirk. 'Though I know I should be wary…' she whispered as quietly as she could, 'still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting…' Max didn't notice her chant; 'I turn loose Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse…' she looked up at him, her smirk now wide across her face, 'Betelgeuse!!' Max's eyes widened as she tightened her grip on him.

'You little bi…!' He started, but was cut off as they disappeared into the Neitherworld.

Betelgeuse landed in the middle of the street, he got to his feet, livid. When he saw, in the vision on the ceiling,that Lydia was in trouble,he had to find Barbara and Adam so that one of them could say his name three times and bring him to earth. He didn't care about the consequences, Juno's wrath was nothing compared to the loss he'd feel if Lydia was killed. What Max was doing to her before he got there, he knew what he was doing from somewhere…he couldn't place where, but he knew what would happen if Max succeeded. He roared in anger, that's it, he thought, Lydia's a goner. Before he could even begin to grieve, Lydia and Max appeared ten feet away from him, he grinned. He'd never been so relieved.

'You bitch!! You don't know what you've done!' He roared, pushing Lydia to the floor. She got up and hurried to Betelgeuse, but before she could get within arms length of him, and unseen force pulled her back to Max, who greeted her with open arms.

'Let go of me!' She screamed.

'But I thought you _wanted_ to be with me.' Max replied. Lydia struggled to get free, but Max tightened his vice-like grip on her.

'You tricked me! You manipulated me! You…'

'Possessed you…?' He finished for her. Lydia screamed and lashed out, cutting his face with her nails. He cried out in pain but he wouldn't let her go. 'We may be back here, but I'm still getting what I want!!' He snarled.

'Let her go!' Betelgeuse yelled.

'Oh? And what are you going to do?'

'Your magic may work on earth when you're in human form, but it's nowhere near as strong here, unless you're in your _true_ form. You're at a disadvantage.' He replied with a smirk on his face. Max dropped Lydia and turned to face Betelgeuse.

'So you want a face-off? Fine with me.' He said. The ground began to shake violently and Max began to change form. Like a lizard shedding its skin, Max's skin tore away and swirled into the dark shadows that lay beneath them. He began to grow until he became nine feet tall, he became thinner, spindlier, and his fingers extended like jagged claws. Betelgeuse cowered, he recognised this being, this spectre. He thought back to what Max was doing to Lydia in her house before he appeared; he remembered where he saw it before… "Max" did the exact same thing to him hundreds of years previously, when he was alive. The figure cackled insanely and towered over the trembling ghoul, whose life force he had stolen all those years before. Now Betelgeuse had no chance, what could he do?

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed!)


	7. Face Off

Beetlejuice:  
Back In The Game

(A/N: This is the last chapter of the story, so I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews, especially WitchyWanda and wild-lotus for being constant readers. And wild-lotus, the explanation was no trouble at all.)

'Stay away!!' Betelgeuse screamed, backing away from the demonic figure that stood before him.

'What's the matter Betelgeuse?? Not pleased to see me after all this time??' He asked, his voice deep, sounding like there were three different voices speaking at the same time. Lydia stared at Betelgeuse, surprised that he was afraid of something, and that something just so happened to be a threat to both of them right now. The ghoul whimpered and continued backing away, he tripped on the kerb and fell backwards, landing on his backside. "Max" laughed cruelly and turned to Lydia, who screamed and tried to run away, but the shadowy demon disappeared and reappeared in front of her. He grabbed Lydia and cackled, lifting her up.

'Betelgeuse! Help!!' She shrieked.

'Watch, Betelgeuse, as I do to your friend what I did to you!' The spirit bellowed. A dark, sickly aura covered both him and Lydia as he proceeded to suck the life from her.

'S-stop!' Betelgeuse stammered, summoning all of his courage and standing up. "Max" laughed and glanced at Betelgeuse, but he didn't stop draining Lydia of her life force.

'Or what, what will you do, little man?' He taunted, dangling Lydia by one arm in front of himself. He continued to laugh as he felt Lydia's spirit inside him, reviving him, giving him strength. Suddenly, he dropped Lydia and roared in pain. Taking advantage of the situation, Betelgeuse ran over and picked Lydia up.

'Are you ok, Lyds??' He asked her as he took her back to the kerb. Lydia, now paler than usual, slowly opened her eyes and smiled a little.

'Yeah…thanks…' She replied in not much more than a whisper. Betelgeuse looked back up at "Max", who was wincing in pain.

'It's not me you need to thank, babes…' He said as Poopsie was flung from "Max's" rear end. He landed not far from Betelgeuse and Lydia, got back up and snarled at the demon that launched him through the air.

'Accursed dog!!' He bellowed, advancing on Poopsie. Betelgeuse set Lydia down and looked around, he noticed a manhole cover right in front of "Max".

'Come on…just a little further…' He mumbled to himself, waiting for the demon to take a few more steps forward.

'I'll kill you all!!' "Max" boomed, still advancing. Suddenly, he felt a shot of pain in his face and was sent reeling backwards. He fell to the ground and stared at the manhole cover that was falling back down towards him. He rolled to the side and growled as the cover embedded itself sideways into the ground where his head had been.

'Ah say, that was some mighty fine shootin'!' The Monster exclaimed as he ran up behind them.

'Thanks.' Betelgeuse replied. Poopsie leapt into his master's arms, still growling at "Max".

'It's futile to fight! You're only delaying the inevitable!' He paused, thinking of another tactic. 'Hand the girl to me and I'll leave the rest of you alone.' Betelgeuse stood between Lydia and "Max", he still felt fear in his heart and he was still trembling, but he remained defiant.

'I'd rather be exorcised!!' He yelled. "Max" growled loudly and took a step towards them, Betelgeuse almost took a step back, but stopped himself.

'You can't stop me, Betelgeuse! You're _nothing_! You hear me?? NOTHING!! You were nothing when I first saw you and you're nothing now!' He roared. Betelgeuse clenched his hands into fists and glared at him. He tried not to let what he said get to him, but no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he ignored the demons words, he couldn't stop it. He knew that he meant nothing to nobody, that he _was _nothing. No one cared for him, he had no family, he had nothing in life. He sighed and turned to look at Lydia, but before he could, "Max" batted him aside, sending the ghoul slamming straight into the concrete path. 'Pathetic…' He muttered, before turning his attention to Lydia. 'Now to finish the job.'

Lydia shrieked as "Max" picked her up again, she struggled as hard as she could, but she was weakened considerably due to the shadow that held her draining her energy the last time. Betelgeuse groggily sat up and held his head, suffering from shellshock. Lydia continued to scream and fight the demon.

'Betelgeuse! Help!!' He looked at her, getting his sight and hearing back slowly. 'Please!' He wanted to help, but what could he do? He was nothing. She even said so herself. Betelgeuse stood up and stared at Lydia, her screams were now hoarse and tears flowed down her cheeks. "Max" laughed sadistically and toyed with her, swinging her from side to side, relishing the poor girls suffering. 'Betelgeuse! Please…help me! You're _not_ nothing!!' The last part got the ghouls attention. 'I _am _your friend! You're not nothing! You're…'

'That's enough out of you!' "Max" growled, clamping a shadowy hand around her mouth. He looked at Betelgeuse and smirked. 'You don't believe her, do you? Why would you? She lied about being your friend before.'

'No…'

'What?'

'No…she didn't lie!' Betelgeuse yelled.

'It makes no difference, you can't do anything to stop me.' "Max" replied. The sickly black aura covered them both once more, Lydia felt the energy leaving her body, her struggling got weaker and weaker as a result. 'Huh…?' "Max" looked around; the ground was quaking violently. He looked at Betelgeuse, who was glaring at him. The ground shook more and more with each passing second, causing large fissures to appear around him.

'I can stop you, and I will!' Betelgeuse bellowed. 'You just made the biggest mistake of your afterlife, pal!!' Suddenly, as "Max" did a few minutes previously, Betelgeuse shed his skin; it spiralled into the infinite blackness that lay beneath. Like a reservoir breaking through a dam, his power burst through whatever was holding it back. Betelgeuse grew in size, his legs formed to become stem, anchoring him to the ground. He towered over "Max", his arms grew spindlier, like his nemeses, and his hair flowed backwards, joining with his back. Two dark-red pools shone like jewels where his eyes once were. "Max's" eyes widened as he stared up at the ghouls sudden transformation.

'Th-this isn't possible!' "Max" cried out, dropping Lydia. Betelgeuse hissed and flicked a forked tongue past his lips. 'You…you're n…' He was cut short once Betelgeuse picked him up by the head and slammed him into the ground.

Once.

Twice.

Third time's a charm.

Betelgeuse let "Max" go and stared at him.

'I know you can take more than that!' He yelled. 'Get up!!' "Max" stood up slowly, trembling.

'You can't do this…you can't do this to me!!' He cried. Betelgeuse cackled and picked him up. A smirk crept over his face as he tightened his grip on the smaller demon.

'Scared?' "Max" shrieked in terror as he was plunged into Betelgeuse's mouth. He fell.

And fell.

And fell.

And fell.

Suddenly, he hit what felt like solid ground. "Max" looked around nervously, afraid of what was to come. He could see nothing but blackness.

'You deserve this…' Betelgeuse's voice rang through the air. 'You deserve nothing less…' "Max" spun around to see Betelgeuse standing in front of him; he was back to normal now.

'You…you're…' Betelgeuse growled at Max's constant attempt to put him down.

'I _AM _power incarnate!' He roared. 'I _AM _the stuff of nightmare that would make even you afraid of the dark! And it seems it worked.' The ghoul advanced towards the shadow-demon, hatred in his eyes. 'But most of all…I.am._Betelgeuse_.'

Lydia sat up, dazed and very weak. She looked up at Betelgeuse; he was still in his shadow-form, the ghoul stood there as if in a daze.

'B-Betelgeuse…?' She tried to call up to him, but all she could manage was a hoarse whisper. The ground shook once more, growing more and more violent, the fissures closed up and then it happened. A gigantic flash of light followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Lydia fell backwards, as did The Monster and Poopsie. By the time she managed to get back up, Betelgeuse was lying on the floor, back in his normal state. Lydia slowly crawled over to him. 'Betelgeuse…' She shook him, his eyes were closed and he wasn't moving at all. '…Betelgeuse…' Her eyes began to water and, burying her face into his jacket, she cried heavily. The Monster walked up behind her, his hat placed against his chest in respect. Poopsie whimpered and sat next to his master. Lydia sobbed and sobbed, he had given his afterlife for her, despite all they had said to each other. The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air and Lydia looked up to see Juno standing over Betelgeuse's body. 'What's happened to him…?'

'He said his name, effectively exorcising himself. It was the only way he could beat that other ghost, because he was inside Betelgeuse when he said his name, he was exorcised too.' Lydia wiped her eyes, still sobbing.

'So…th-there's no c-coming back for h-him…?' Juno took a drag of her cigarette and let out a puff of smoke through her neck.

'I shouldn't do this…but there _is_ one way.' Lydia stared up at the deceased caseworker.

'How?? I'll do anything!' She cried out. Juno sighed and took another drag of her cigarette.

'Are you familiar with the different forces within the human body?' Lydia shook her head quickly, wanting to get Betelgeuse back as quick as possible. 'There are two forces, life force and spirit force. When your life force expires, you die and your spirit force takes over. Well, since Betelgeuse lost his spirit force by saying his name, he was exorcised.' Lydia nodded in understanding, wiping her cheeks of all tears. 'If you were to donate some of your spirit force, you could bring him back to life…so to speak.'

'I'll do it!' Lydia replied instantly.

'Are you sure? You know that you'll be linked with him forever, right?'

'I don't care, just bring him back.' Juno nodded and snapped her fingers. They were instantly transported to the hospital and Lydia found herself in a bed next to Betelgeuse, who was in a bed of his own.

'Ok people, we've got a transfusion here!' Juno yelled. Several doctors and nurses rushed to them and wheeled the two beds out into the surgery. Lydia looked up at a doctor and smiled lightly.

'Um…how many times has this been done successfully?' The doctor looked back down at her, a glint of insanity in his eye.

'Success? None! It's never been attempted before either! Isn't this great??' Lydia shrank back under her covers and muttered.

'Yeah…great…'

Juno, The Monster, Jacques and Ginger were sitting in the waiting room. They'd been waiting there for a few hours after Lydia and Betelgeuse had been taken into surgery. The wait was excruciating, it had never been done before so it was possible that the both of them have been lost. A doctor walked into the waiting room and over to the four who had been waiting. He gave them the news.

'Ugh…my head…' Lydia murmured, holding her hand against her forehead. She sat up, only to be pushed back down again.

'Don't move, you need to rest.' Juno said. Lydia smiled and tried to open her eyes. The light stung, it felt like she was opening them for the first time ever. After getting used to the light she looked up to see her Neitherworldian friends standing over her. Though she could hardly move and her head was pounding, she had only one thing on her mind.

'Where's…' Before she could finish, Juno and The Monster stepped aside to reveal Betelgeuse lying in the bed next to hers. He was already awake.

'Hey babes…' He whispered with a smile on his face. Lydia smiled and couldn't help but to start crying.

'Hey…' She replied, tears flowing down her cheeks.

'You ok?' He asked, his face paler than usual, if that was possible. Lydia softly bit her bottom lip and nodded. She held her hand out, as did Betelgeuse. She held his hand in hers and squeezed, he squeezed back. 'Thanks…'

'Sure thing, pal.' Lydia replied. Betelgeuse's smile widened. For the first time in hundreds of years he felt something he'd almost forgotten about. Each passing second, he could feel a thud in his chest, his heart was as dead as the rest of him, but he could feel Lydia's heartbeat. If he didn't know before, he knew now that he and Lydia _were _friends, and that they'd be friends for a very, _very _long time.

(A/N: Well that's it! Hope you enjoyed! I've really, really enjoyed writing this fic. But never fear! This isn't the end! If I think of more adventures for Lydia and Betelgeuse, you can rest assured that I'll make a story from it. Again, thanks to WitchyWanda and wild-lotus for being constant readers and reviewers!)


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